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SARAJEVO, March 16 (FENA) - During a meeting of the Western Balkans Foreign Ministers (WB6) in Sarajevo, the European Commission's Director-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Christian Danielsson, told a press conference that this meeting is being held in the context of the new EU strategy, which contains very clear principles for the countries of the Western Balkans in their efforts to join the European community.
Mr. Danielsson underlined reconciliation as a very important item among the three rules in that strategy, which countries must follow if they want to become part of the EU. He also said that there were two rules remaining - a reform that should lead to the rule of law and the necessary economic reform.
At today's meeting, the participants emphasized the key importance of regional cooperation for all three areas, he said.
According to Mr. Danielsson, they discussed investment in infrastructure in the region, in Bosnia and Herzegovina specifically in the construction of Corridor 5C, as well as investments in digitization and creating a much better climate for the development of the economy. They also discussed security issues and the fight against corruption and crime in the region, Mr. Danielsson said.
His task at the gathering, he said, was to express strong support for the efforts envisaged by the new European strategy.
The meeting in Sarajevo is being held at a very important moment because the issues concerning the Western Balkans are at the top of the agenda of the European Union. Additional momentum is given by the Bulgarian presidency of the European Union, as well as the upcoming May summit of regional countries in Sofia, concluded Mr. Danielsson.
A participant of today's meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Ekaterina Zakharova, told the press conference that this is her second time in Sarajevo in six months because preparations are being made for the summit on the Western Balkans in Sofia, but also for the London summit for the upcoming summer.
The participants of the meeting emphasized positive ideas for improving regional cooperation.
“We want to bring the entire process into an unstoppable phase. The integration of countries in the region on the basis of economic projects is very important, and we also want concrete measures for the citizens to feel a real, positive difference,” said the Bulgarian Foreign Minister.
Connectivity in this case also refers to the physical connecting of people, the business community, the youth, etc., she added, and not just to the infrastructural or telecommunication projects because connecting contributes to peace and stability and the new European strategy brings six very concrete initiatives, which envisage each country’s development in the pace that suits it.
The Bulgarian Minister announced that the upcoming May summit in Sofia will try to further strengthen the European perspective of the countries of the Western Balkans.
Host of today's meeting of regional ministers Igor Crnadak emphasized at a press conference a joint declaration of the participants in which they state that it is necessary to continue to build up the best possible relations in the region with as many as possible concrete projects with results visible to the citizens of the countries that are committed to membership in the European Union.
The fact that the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the rule of law has been put forward as the first European initiative in this context is very important to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Crnadak concluded.
The second part of the WB6 ministerial meeting, in which the joint declaration of the participants has been adopted so far, is scheduled for tonight at Jahorina, and during the day, a ministerial conference of the Western Balkans Fund is being held in Sarajevo, hosted by the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the afternoon, the ministers will be joined by the Minister of State for Europe and Americas at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of Great Britain, Alan Duncan.
In a joint declaration, the participants of the meeting reaffirmed their commitment to stronger regional cooperation, emphasizing the European Union's continued engagement in supporting stability and strengthening political and economic ties within and with the region. They welcomed the confirmed unambiguous support of the European Union to the European perspective of the Western Balkans, as emphasized in the European Commission's document "A Credible Enlargement Perspective for and Enhanced EU Engagement with the Western Balkans".
“We believe that a credible prospect for EU accession is a key impetus for the transformation of our region, which introduces additional dynamics to implement the necessary reforms. In this regard, we emphasize the importance of the Action Plan to support the transformation of the Western Balkans, which consists of six leading initiatives of the Strategy. We look forward to the operationalization of these leading initiatives that will require concrete support from European institutions, as well as from the EU member states and international financial institutions,” reads, among other, the joint declaration of the participants of today's WB6 ministerial meeting.
(FENA)
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